


Monkey On Your Back

by rhodrymavelyne



Series: A Hopeless Situation [20]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:41:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29713188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhodrymavelyne/pseuds/rhodrymavelyne
Summary: Andrew is ready to try his killer spell…only it doesn’t go the way he hoped. Fortunately the cavalry is ready to save him…and tear him a new one.
Relationships: Buffy Summers/Angel, Daniel "Oz" Osbourne/Willow Rosenberg, Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers
Series: A Hopeless Situation [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/377794
Kudos: 3





	Monkey On Your Back

**Author's Note:**

> This is Part 20 of my ongoing story A Hopeless Situation. This takes place during the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer before Faith joins the Mayor’s team. I don’t own Buffy but there are times when its characters run off with my imagination. :)

Andrew sat down in the circle he’d drawn backstage. Someone else had drawn a circle here before. He wasn’t the first Sunnydale student to try to summon something. 

He pouted a bit at this before regaining his resolution. This would be worth it. This would be awesome. 

He started to chant the traditional Latin before adding his own addition to the spell. “Oh-ee-yah! Ee-oh-ah!”

He grinned as green smoke began appear in the circle along with the sound of chatter and flapping wings.

***  
Buffy Summers strode through the halls, wearing a leather jacket, trousers, and a dark blue tunic of clinging material, exposing plenty of cleavage. On one side was Faith, wearing the same leather and the same tunic as Buffy, only red.  


On the other was Cordelia Chase in a tight green dress keeping up an impressive power walk in heels.

Rumour mongers didn’t know what to think. To make matters even stranger, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg trotted behind. Willow dressed in a hat, a yellow sweater and skirt which weren’t remotely fashionable or provactive, yet gave the entire group a wholesome appearance which no one was sure they deserved. Xander called into question this wholesomeness with his shirt of splattered color over a tank top and jeans that were tighter than they once would have been. 

Now those watching were really confused. They might have been even more confused if they’d heard the conversation. 

***

“You all know what we’re up against,” Buffy said, never breaking her power walk. “The First.”

Faith smirked. “If I had a nickle for every guy who claimed to be that.” 

“It does sound like the sort of title a poser would take on.” Agreeing with Faith weirded Cordelia out even more than agreeing with Buffy. “Oh, look I’m worse than anything else you’ve ever faced. Hellmouths swoon when I pass.”

“Now that’s something I’d like to see!” Xander chortled before considering his words. “Or not.” 

“Seriously that’s a huge claim,” Willow murmured. “This is supposed to be the source of evil in all things, the beginning and the end? It’s hard to even imagine.”

“And it’s been playing with us all.” Xander scowled. “Turning us against each other, speaking through our dead friends, trying throw us off our game.”

“It started with Scott Hope.” Willow lost her introspectiveness and joined Xander in scowling. “It was when he started spreading rumours that the dead started appearing all over the place.”

“You think he’s involved with this First?” Faith glanced from Buffy to Willow. 

Buffy pressed her lips together in a grim line. “For his sake, I hope he’s not.”

****

Scott Hope saw something he’d seen many a time on the movie screen, never dreamed or dared he’d see in real life. 

Flying monkeys filling the air above the theater. One of them was carrying someone. 

“Help, oh, help!” “It was Andrew, dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West? “You’re supposed to serve me. I summoned you. Why aren’t they obeying me?”

“Maybe they need the Golden Cap?” Scott looked up. “It was how they were controlled in the books.”

“These monkeys aren’t from the book and they shouldn’t need a cap!” Andrew yelped, flailing his arms. “Put me down!”

Not sure what else to do, Scott reached up and grabbed his leg. This pulled Andrew and the monkey down lower. The flying monkey flapped his wings. Scott noted he was wearing a little red jacket and cap just like in the original illustrations of The Wizard of Oz.

Cool. Scott found himself rising in the air. All right, not cool. Maybe a little bit cool. Geeking out about this wasn’t cool...or helpful. 

Arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him down. “You have a way of finding yourself in the most interesting situations.”

“Holden!” Scott could have kissed him. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we appear to be under attack by flying monkeys.”

“I noticed.” Holden sounded more amused than frightened. “Don’t worry. The cavalry is right behind me.”

The doors burst open, revealing a tiny figure with golden hair looking not at all frightened, only furious. She was followed by another girl, a familar dark-haired girl in leather. 

Never had Scott Hope been happier to see his ex and the girl she dumped him for.

***  
Buffy and Faith charged forward while less buff Scoobies as they punningly regarded themselves lingered behind.

“Are those flying monkeys?” Willow looked at the flapping figures swarming near the ceiling with bright eyes. 

“They never come for the cool people.” Cordelia regarded the flying monkeys with a scorn barely covering a little envy. “Even when they’ve been more than wicked.”

“Geek out later,” Xander nudged at both of the girls. “How do we stop this?”

“I’m guessing this was a summoning spell,” Willow said, glancing up at a figure dressed as the wicked witch. “If we break it, we should be able to banish them.”

There was a tiny note of regret in her voice.

“Will.” Xander spoke with a sternness he seldom used with his best friend. “No.”

“Xander, they’re flying monkeys.” She turned those wide, dark eyes upon him. They’d had a devastating effect even before he noticed they were beautiful. “How would you feel if Superman appeared and started flying around the theatre?”

“That’s different,” Xander said with some severity. “Superman is a good guy.” 

“These monkeys are not being controlled by a good guy.” Cordelia wrinkled her nose, regaining her usual haughty pose. “Let’s look for that circle.”

“I’m guessing it’s backstage,” Willow pointed at the curtain. “There’s a lot of energy back there, which might explain a few things. 

The three Scoobies trotted in the direction she pointed. Willow gave the monkeys a longing, backwards glance before running. 

“Will.” Xander used his warning voice while keeping pace with his oldest friend. “I’m telling Oz you were willing to leave him for an army of flying monkeys. He might even believe me.”

Willow gave him a reproachful look, pushing her legs to move ahead.

“Good thing he’s on a road trip,” Cordelia added unhelpfully, falling behind and not bothering to keep up. “He loves The Wizard of Oz.”

This time it was Xander…and Willow’s…turn to give Cordelia a reproachful look while running. “Now how do you know that?” 

“Please.” Cordelia gave her companions a backwards glance of sheer scorn. “Just how much time have I wasted getting to know you losers?”

****

Buffy tackled Holden, Scott, Andrew, and the monkey ending up in an uncomfortable looking pile. 

Faith, not to be outdone, leaped into the air and caught on a monkey, crashing into the audience seats with her arms around it. 

Buffy fished Scott out of the pile. “Is this your doing?”

“No,” he gasped, gazing at her with wide, almost innocent eyes. Once she’d found them pretty. Now she wondered what secrets lay behind them. “It wasn’t me.” 

“It was me.” Andrew got up, patches of skin showing through his green make-up. “It seemed like a cool idea at the time.”

****

The circle was obvious, garish, and done in red paint. Willow looked at it in distaste. 

“I can’t believe how clumsy the sigils are.” She gave one of them a critical look. “That’s now how you’re supposed to draw it.”

“Marvel at the lack of artistry later.” Cordelia brought her heel down on the circle, scraping off some of the red.

****

The monkeys all disappeared from the theater. 

“Looks like the gang got to whatever summoned this.” Faith swaggered up to Buffy, looking like she had loads of energy she really wanted to using punching something. Or somebody.

Buffy fixed her cold gaze on Andrew. “Start talking.”

“It wasn’t my idea!” he blubbered, waving his hands. “Harmony was the one who suggested it!”

“Harmony.” Buffy said her name as if she’d tasted something which really shouldn’t be food. “She suggested you summon flying monkeys.”

“Well, no.” Andrew smiled, preening a little bit. “It was my idea. I’m good at summonings. Runs in the family.”

Buffy smiled in an utterly unamused fashion. “You need to find a new hobby.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Andrew pouted and shuffled. “I thought I’d have them attack the school play, but I didn’t. This isn’t even the dress rehearsal.”

“You tried to sabotage the school play?” Scott turned his wide-eyed stare upon Andrew. Buffy wondered if Scott knew how devastating it was. Probably. “Why? You’re part of it.”

“Yeah, why not attack the cheerleaders or the football players?” Holden suggested. “They’re the ones who really have it coming.”

“Enough!” Buffy raised her hands. “Maybe they’ve got it coming. Maybe the theater has it coming. We don’t get to decide!”

“Only you do.” Kendra gazed at her from across the aisle. “You always decide. Both of you.”

Faith froze in her tracks, staring at Kendra. 

“Do you see her?” Buffy reached out to touch Faith’s arm, only to withdraw her fingers. 

“Yeah.” Faith strode forward to give Kendra a challenging look. “What gives? Decided you wanted to have some fun, so you took on the form of a Slayer?”

“It didn’t have fun when I was alive. I did my duty, which is more than either of you can say, for all the fun you have together.” Kendra raised her chin. “For all you don’t miss me.” 

“I do miss you. No, not you. I miss her.” Buffy spoke, slowly getting the words out. “I wish she could have had more fun, that we could have had more fun together.” She glanced at Faith out of the corner of her eye, not daring to look directly at her. “She was different than you. I'm not sure if Kendra ever had a chance to live, but you...you charge at life with a fierceness that's…beautiful.”

“And here it comes,” Kendra folded her arms. “Your sordid confession of unnatural feelings.”

“It’s not sordid. And it’s not unnatural.” Buffy turned to face Faith, slowly raising her eyes to meet the other girl’s. “You make me wonder what I’m missing, make me run to catch up with you in so many ways.” She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “This is beyond simply finding you attractive. Everything about you is…seductive.”

“Wow, B.” Faith smiled at this, rolling her shoulders in a dissmissive shrug, but for a moment her dark eyes softened. Just for a moment. “I’m getting all tingly, thinking about what you must be like when you say this to someone you really go for.” 

She didn’t believe Buffy. She didn’t really take her seriously...or was choosing not to.

The First was watching, listening. It wore Kendra as if she were nothing more than a suit of clothes. 

“You’re not Kendra.” Buffy looked straight in her dead friend’s face. “I was as seductive to her as Faith is to me. She had even less freedom than I did. Seeing you here, mocking her is an insult to her memory.”

“I never get tired of insulting Slayers.” Kendra changed, turning into Drusilla, smiling, raising her arms. “Just wait until I do more than insult, dearie. There’s more than plenty willing to do my dirty work.”

“I often feel dirty, doing my work. Sometimes I wish those feelings would go away, that I could let go and enjoy it…like you. With you.” Buffy snuck Faith a sideways glance. “This is why those rumours hit a nerve. They made me wonder…” 

She trailed off, but Faith finished her sentence for her. 

“…about what it could be like.” Faith avoided her gaze, not quite looking at her. “If there was no Angel and I wasn’t always going to the next hunk of a lay.” 

“Something like that.” Buffy released a breath, feeling a lot of the tension leave her. “You never seem to care what anyone thinks, Faith. You just do and take what you want.”

“While you’re always thinking, caring, and have a group of people around you all the time because of it.” Faith turned a little to meet her eye. “The attraction is mutual, B, along with the envy.” 

Buffy felt herself smile a little. “Do we kiss now?”

“No way. I expect dinner and a movie first.” Faith winked and grinned. “Don’t sweat it, B. We’re teenagers and we’re Slayers.”

Once again, Faith had waved away their confession of mutual attraction. Buffy wasn’t sure if she relieved or disappointed. “We’re still figuring out what we want.” 

Just what had she been expecting? To truly kiss like she and Angel might have? Those kisses might have made her lips burn, but they’d taken the Slayer and the vampire to a place Buffy never, ever wanted to return to. 

Just where would this feeling take Faith and herself? Oddly enough, Buffy felt almost like they were two guys, too macho to truly say too much about their feelings. Buffy had already taken things to a soft, mushy level which Slayers tended not to survive. 

Happily she wasn’t stuck with deep thoughts or an awkward silence. Willow, Xander, and Cordelia chose that moment to appear from backstage, crashing into any kind of mood that might have been building up and stepping on it. 

“I see the monkeys are gone.” Willow gave Faith a slightly suspicious glance before turning her brightest smile on Buffy. 

“Where are the little creeps who summoned it?” Xander looked this way and that. “I was looking forward to hitting something.” 

“Don’t.” Cordelia rolled her eyes. “I saw the summoner. He’s even more pathetic than you. It would be like hitting an old lady. Those were the cheapest excuse for ruby slippers I’ve ever seen on his feet.”

Buffy glanced around, realized she and her friends were alone. Scott and the other two boys must have made themselves scarce while she and Faith were talking to the First.

Typical.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, the chant Andrew does is the song that the Wicked Witch's guards sing in the movie The Wizard of Oz. :)
> 
> If you've read the book The Wizard of Oz, the flying monkeys were controlled by whomever possessed the Golden Cap, although the wearer could only call on the monkeys three times.


End file.
